Shop Ideas, Good, Bad, Ugly

[AZStickman]

After years of dreaming I am moving out of the Garage and into a shop where I will be able to have room for building bows, arrows and do some leather work.......I'm looking to hear what you like about your shop. What you would do different if you had it to do over. And anything innovative you came up with as far as storage and layout options....... Thanks....... Terry

[M60gunner]

Well AZStickmam, I am going to be doing the same thing first part of next year in Sun City, Az. My area is only 9 by 15 but I should be able to have a decent bench for whatever project I am working on. I am thinking about putting everything on wheels including the work bench. Shelves are going to be no lower than waist high. I can stow the wheeled stuff under the shelves that way. I also want to be able to move stuff outside on the patio in nice weather to work. I will be making arrows, leather things, bamboo fly rods and some wood working projects.
I am looking forward to ideas from others as well.

[KOOK68]

What size? I work in the steel building industry, and may have some photos i can share.

[Bladepeek]

Make sure you include a decent dust collection system in your plans.

[AZStickman]

Thanks guys.....Kook68...... It's a big step up from the Garage but only a small shop 12'x16'....... Terry

[KOOK68]

we build anything from 8X8 to 5 city blocks!! LOL If I find any photos with neat setups, I'll email them to you.
I'm in the process of planning myself. My thoughts are a high eave/peak, and putting in a small loft at one end. Store bulky stuff there, and keep the the floor space free.

[Pat B.]

Kook, you work for a Mueller type outfit ?

[jess stuart]

x2 on everything on wheels. Seems that space shrinks faster than you can imagine.  If you can put your bench in a way to make it accessible from all sides is very nice.

[Keefer]

If you use a air compresser for anything don't use P.V.C. pipe for compressed air...This is a timebomb waiting to "explode" on you and many bowyers and farmers,welders and many here have it I'm sure and used it for years...I was told by a very good friend that I bought pipe from at a plumbing supply house to "NEVER" and I repeat "NEVER" use P.V.C. plastic pipe for air compressors...I have a brother that has it in his machine shop and he's smart as heck but when I told him about the possibility's of it exploding he just didn't care...I sure would hate to see a kid or anybody get hurt by some know it all that use's it and claims it has it written on the pipe it can handle 480 p.s.i. and I say that's water pressure not Air pressure and these guys argue till there's no end...
Now I myself ain't no expert on that but just forwarning incase you decide to run P.V.C. as your main line feeding air to a machine or having a airhose handy at each station of your equipment...
My friend worked at several plumbing supply houses as a manager and has told me there is a bunch of guys coming in asking for adapters,pipe etc to run air lines and his job was to tell them this cause they had a safely class on it telling them not to use it for air and if I ain't mistaken he didn't sell them any when they told him what they intended to use it for...
Now galvanized pipe is a different story and you can use it for a main run...        Don't say I didn't warn you...

[KOOK68]

Originally posted by Pat B.:
Kook, you work for a Mueller type outfit ?

Yes. We manufacture everything from the frames, to the panels.

[Beau J]

When I built my shop I built a work table like the ones in my old shop class so I could work on all sides of it. I like it 10 times better than a work bench where I am facing a wall or corner all the time. Good luck with your new shop!

[TxAg]

Originally posted by Keefer:
If you use a air compresser for anything don't use P.V.C. pipe for compressed air...This is a timebomb waiting to "explode" on you and many bowyers and farmers,welders and many here have it I'm sure and used it for years...I was told by a very good friend that I bought pipe from at a plumbing supply house to "NEVER" and I repeat "NEVER" use P.V.C. plastic pipe for air compressors...I have a brother that has it in his machine shop and he's smart as heck but when I told him about the possibility's of it exploding he just didn't care...I sure would hate to see a kid or anybody get hurt by some know it all that use's it and claims it has it written on the pipe it can handle 480 p.s.i. and I say that's water pressure not Air pressure and these guys argue till there's no end...
Now I myself ain't no expert on that but just forwarning incase you decide to run P.V.C. as your main line feeding air to a machine or having a airhose handy at each station of your equipment...
My friend worked at several plumbing supply houses as a manager and has told me there is a bunch of guys coming in asking for adapters,pipe etc to run air lines and his job was to tell them this cause they had a safely class on it telling them not to use it for air and if I ain't mistaken he didn't sell them any when they told him what they intended to use it for...
Now galvanized pipe is a different story and you can use it for a main run...                   Don't say I didn't warn you... [/QUOTE

Don't mean to get off subject but I agree with Keefer. Compressed air acts differently than water. Water is five times denser than air...when something gives, air escapes 5 times faster creating pressure surges that can weaken or exceed the piping specifications.

Our engineers at work tell us that as little as 50-60 pounds of compressed air can cause a big accident. We had a customer using a competitor's product and a coupling blew, breaking the guy's arm in a couple places....this was less than 100 psi.

[gringol]

Water is incompressible, so a weak pipe forms a leak.  Air on the other hand is compressible, so a weak pipe forms a bomb as the air rapidly expands.

Back to the topic...12x16 is a bit small.  My shop is that size and it's a constant battle to keep the work area clear.

[M60gunner]

I also plan on having a portable AC unit and dust collection also. I want lots and lots of light fixtures. I am also going to have Internet access.

[old_goat2]

Originally posted by M60gunner:
I also plan on having a portable AC unit and dust collection also. I want lots and lots of light fixtures. I am also going to have Internet access.

Then you might want a recliner too!  :D

[Texasrecurve]

I'll second the light fixtures. You can never have enough.

[Keefer]

Guys,
 I thought he was looking for ideas about what or what not to do and not sure if I took it off topic and please forgive me if I read the topic wrong cause I wanted to just let him know incase he wanted his shop set up for air...Just didn't want to see a possible injury ...
 Now my shop is attached to the garage and I built work benchs on three walls and got a good deal on 4 metal labatory style heavy cabinets that have thick glass in the doors so I can see whats in the cabinet instead of opening to see where I put something...
I also included a nice Hunter cast iron ceiling fan and a window A/c for summer and piped up a little heater that works from my boiler for winter and has it's own thermostat for it...
 It's good to have a shop to control temperature if you can do it...
 Good lighting for your eyes also...
When working on small objests I cann't stand not having good light and must use a headlamp with my reading glass's when tinkering...
Someone mentioned "DUST COLLECTING" and one of my brothers has one that runs to nearly everything in his shop and he also got a floor type dust collector with a dust pan attached to the systom and you just sweep the floor dust to the pan and pull a shoot or something and your saw dust is sucked up to the holding bag/container...

[Dimondback]

I am working on a design right now to save space (still working out of my garage)...a woodworking bench that has a built in (side loading) bow oven, form storage and drawers for frequently used rasps, files scrapers and sandpaper. I also prefer this type of bench over facing a corner as I am currently doing.

[Jon Stewart]

You can never have too many light fixtures or electrical outlets. I goofed up and didn't put in enough electrical outlets.

Originally posted by Jon Stewart:
You can never have too many light fixtures or electrical outlets. I goofed up and didn't put in enough electrical outlets.

This^^^^^! How ever many electrical outlets you think you need, double that number and you should be good to go!

Bisch